Two waste pickers overcome ‘anpadh' taunt to study and scale wall

Time of India

13-05-2025

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Pune: Priyanka Kamble and Komal Gaikwad, hurt at being called "anpadh" (uneducated), on Tuesday rewrote not just their academic history, but also their sense of self-worth when they cleared the SSC exam.Both women are waste pickers in Pune and were regularly taunted by in-laws for not having gone to school.
"Their words kept ringing in my ears. I wanted to prove them wrong," said 27-year-old Kamble, a member of SWaCH cooperative, who was pulled out of school after Std III. After marriage, she moved to her in-laws' home in Solapur. "They would call me 'anpadh' and humiliate me. There were constant fights. I left their house and came to Pune to earn and live with dignity."She enrolled at Ramabai Ranade School in 2022. She would collect waste in the morning, cook lunch for her son, and reach school by 2pm. " Teachers supported me even when I used to be late because of work," she said.She scored 48% and her husband called to congratulate her. "He told me to distribute sweets. Residents from the area where I work congratulated me," Kamble said. She now dreams of becoming an anganwadi sevika.Komal Gaikwad, 26, a single mother from Dandekar Pul Vasti, had never stepped inside a classroom. "I got married at 20 and was constantly mocked by my in-laws for my lack of schooling," she said. When her husband died during the Covid pandemic, she was pregnant with her second child and had to start earning."My in-laws said that because I was uneducated, I will not get be able to earn. But I wanted a better future for my children. I had to lead by example," she said.She enrolled in a night school and scored 58% in her SSC exam. "My daughter, who is in Std V now, is beaming with pride when I got my results. I want to continue my education and join junior college. My teachers will guide me, and I'll keep going," Gaikwad added.